Policy area: International relations

Reports

Transatlantic ties: UK-US relations to 2045

This report from UK think tank the Coalition for Global Prosperity outlines how the UK can deepen and renew the special relationship over the next 20 years. The UK is facing the most volatile and unpredictable global environment since the Second World War, a situation the Ministry of Defence has called a "pre-war era." In...

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Why the Indo-Pacific should be a higher priority for the UK

This report from UK think tank Chatham House argues in favour of using Britain’s alliances and networks for greater impact. Although UK foreign policy has for some time acknowledged the Indo-Pacific’s importance to Britain’s long-term interests, the government has yet to articulate and instrumentalize a sufficiently coherent approach to the region. Worries over European security,...

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BFPG’s 2025 annual survey of UK public opinion on foreign policy and global affairs

This report from UK think tank the British Foreign Policy Group explores the British public’s opinion on foreign policy and global affairs. BFPG’s 2025 Annual Survey, the seventh iteration of the survey which began in 2019, finds that public support for the ‘special relationship’ has collapsed, with President Trump seen to be undermining the UK’s...

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Understanding and improving sanctions today

This report from UK think tank Chatham House explores why and how many sanctions fail, and what to do about it. Sanctions are a key instrument of foreign policy and economic statecraft, applied with increasing frequency by the US, the UK and the EU. Given the growing prevalence of these tools, there are mounting concerns...

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Modern slavery: A global crisis with local consequences

This report from UK think tank the Coalition for Global Prosperity analyses the UK's Modern Slavery Act 2015 a decade after its implementation. This report from the Coalition for Global Prosperity analyses the UK's Modern Slavery Act 2015 a decade after its implementation. While initially a landmark piece of legislation, the report argues that its...

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Russia, AI and the future of disinformation warfare

This report from UK think tank RUSI explores how Russia is discussing, conceptualising and framing AI within their online communications. This paper explores how Russian state-affiliated and state-aligned actors are discussing, conceptualising and framing AI within their online communications. As generative AI technologies rapidly evolve, their implications for global information security are becoming more acute....

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Lessons from bottom-up analysis of crime, terror and insecurity in Africa

This report from UK think tank RUSI presents practical considerations arising from RUSI's three-year project 'Organised Crime, Terror and Insecurity in Africa'. The report presents practical considerations arising from RUSI's three-year project 'Organised Crime, Terror and Insecurity in Africa', which explores local perceptions and experiences of key security threats. The link between crime and terrorism...

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Financial dynamics of insecurity in Mozambique and Nigeria

This report from UK think tank RUSI offers policy implications for addressing the underassessed financial dynamics of insecurity in the two countries. This Policy Brief is based on research on Mozambique and Nigeria carried out between February 2022 and February 2024. The research relied on in-country interviews, a targeted review of existing literature and validation...

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The right road

This report from UK think tank Bright Blue examines the future of the European centre-right. For much of the postwar era, centre-right political parties dominated European parliaments. European centre-right parties in the time since the Second World War benefited from and presided over strong economic growth, rising living standards and relatively generous social security systems....

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Crime, terror and insecurity in Nigeria

This report from UK think tank RUSI takes bottom-up perceptions of violence as a starting point for analysing northern Nigeria’s threat landscape. Nigeria faces numerous security threats: from high rates of violent crime and enduring kidnap-for-ransom issues to long-running insurgencies in the northeast and a metastasising banditry problem in the northwest. Local assessments of these...

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Crime, terror and insecurity in Mozambique

This report from UK think tank RUSI provides a comprehensive analysis of Mozambique's complex and layered security landscape. Mozambique faces an array of security challenges, from resilient illicit economies to an enduring kidnapping problem and a long running insurgency in the north. Many security challenges play out at community level, yet local perceptions and experiences...

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Ministerial leadership during crises

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at how ministers can prepare for a potential crisis and learn lessons in the aftermath. Crises are among the greatest challenges a minister will face while in office. The minister in charge of the response will have to get to grips with a complex...

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Calibrated force: Operation Sindoor and the future of Indian deterrence

This report from UK think tank RUSI examines the use of calibrated force. The strikes by the Indian Air Force against targets in Pakistan offer a powerful lesson in restraint and Operation Sindoor adds a new approach to India's strategic toolbox.

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Asylum management centres – a new approach to reduce small boat crossings

This report from UK think tank the Future Governance Forum calls on government to set up new asylum management centres in France to divert asylum seekers into safe routes. With rising small boat arrivals and a dysfunctional asylum system, the government faces growing pressure to demonstrate control at the border. But achieving a significant and...

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New ways to frame responsible cyber behaviour beyond the UN

This report from UK think tank RUSI examines new ways to frame responsible cyber behaviour beyond the UN. Responsible cyber behaviour (RCB) refers to the collective expectations of state and non-state actors about how they should behave in cyberspace. ‘Behaviour’ in this context comprises the values, norms, policies, practices and technologies that are meant to...

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